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Hetaoyuan Formation

Hetaoyuan Fm


Period: 
Paleogene

Age Interval: 
Middle Eocene (17d)


Province: 
Henan, Hubei

Type Locality and Naming

The naming section is located in the vicinity of Yuhuangding to Dacangfang in the Liguanqiao basin, Henan. Named by the Petroleum Party of the Henan Bureau of Geology in 1960.


Lithology and Thickness

Primarily gray, grayish white, dark gray, grayish green and brownish red marlstone, mudstone and sandy mudstone with sandstone, conglomerate and oil shale, containing gypsum, trona and halite. The thickness is ~250–1500 m.


Lithology Pattern: 
Gypsiferous claystone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

It has a conformable contact with the underlying Eocene Dacangfang Fm.

Upper contact

Regional extent

The formation is mainly distributed in the Liguanqiao, Nanyang, Wucheng and Pingchangguan basins, Henan Province, and also in Danjiang City, Hubei Province.


GeoJSON

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Fossils

This formation is rich in fossils, containing the ostracods Cyprinotus preconcavus, C. formalis and Eucypris pengzhenensis and the charophytes Gyrogona qianjiangica, Maedlerisphaera chinensis and Grovesichara kielani; for vertebrates, besides turtles, there are at least over 15 species of mammals, of which the important ones are Lushilagus danzjiangensis, Miacis lushiensis and Sarkastodon henanensis and various species of tapirs such as Breviodon minutus, Schlosseria hetaoyuanensis and Lophialetes expeditus, as well as Protitan and Sianodon.


Age 

From the elements, this fauna is very similar to the middle Eocene Irdin Manha fauna of Inner Mongolia. The common genera of the two faunas account for ca. 40%. Wang, Y.Q. et al. (2019; Paleogene integrated stratigraphy and timescale of China) show it as spanning only the late-middle Lutetian

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Lutetian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.4

    Beginning date (Ma): 
45.25

    Ending stage: 
Lutetian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
0.7

    Ending date (Ma):  
43.14

Depositional setting


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

Tao Deng, Yuanqing Wang, Qian Li, et al.